The North Carolina quarter, the 12th in the
series and the second quarter to be released in the 2001 series, highlights the
famous 1903 photograph of the "First Flight."

The North Carolina quarter commemorates the
historic feat that took place on December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk, North
Carolina with the first successful flight of a heavier-than-air, self-propelled
flying machine. The craft, called the Flyer, traveled a distance of
approximately 37 meters (120 feet) on its first flight and soared even further
as one of the most significant human achievements in history.

Governor James B. Hunt appointed the North
Carolina Department of Cultural Resources as the lead in the state's design
concept process. The Department established the North Carolina Commemorative
Coin Committee, which consisted of members from the State Department of Cultural
Resources, the Division of Archives and History, as well as coin collectors. The
Committee solicited design ideas from the residents of North Carolina.

Some alternate design concepts suggested were
the 1903 Flyer superimposed over an outline of the state, the Hatteras
Lighthouse superimposed over an outline of the state, and the Hatteras
Lighthouse showing a dune and sea gulls. On June 5, 2000, the Governor was
provided with three candidate designs, and the Committee and Governor Hunt
selected the "First Flight" theme for the official design.